for the wealthy. >> while members are not supportive of the tax plan,johnboehnerareurging them to make compromise, something president obama senior adviser david axelrod called encouraging. >> there's money to be gained by closing some of these loopholes and applying them to deficit reductions. >> one half of those automatic spending cuts would affect the defense department's budget. david martin shows us what that means for the military. >> reporter: the dreaded sequestration would double the $500 billion in cuts the pentagon is already planning to make over the next decade. defense secretary panetta has not minced words. >> if sequestration goes into effect it's a disaster for national defense. >> reporter: the strategy of pivoting away from the wars in iraq and afghanistan towards the pacific and an emerging chinese superpower would come undone. >> all of that can go to hell if this congress doesn't face up and deal with the issue of sequestration. >> reporter: in this letter to senators panetta warned by the time sequestration was over the u.s. would have the smallest ground force

of the year. >> on the house side that's clearthatboehnerissend inging a message to fellow republicans on the house, we've got to make extra steps that we didn't before? >> i think that's true and i think the president has responded by saying i'm not wedded to the idea of tax rate increases. i'll settle for more revenue, if that's the -- if that's what i can get. >> yuf got senyou've got senators reid and mcconnell. >> it was like arranging the peace talk ss. it wasn't easy. >> were they as uncomfortable as they look sitting next to each other? >> yes. >> yeah? >> yes. >> what did you learn from that? >> what can you say? they don't strike me as two guys that are going to sit down in a room over a whiskey and kind of work things out. they're very locked in their way s and they are both political tacticians. that's what they do. >> they are brilliant political tacticians. they are both good at what they do in outmaneuvering one another. they're so politically far apart. why should we expect a compromise bill to happen? >> i think the future of the party of repub